Buckle up, because this is going to be a wild ride. I'll just start from last Monday so I can get everything right.
So we had p day and everything and then we were on our way to drop me off on an exchange with our mission's new French speaking sisters. While we were driving, we got a call from our bishop's wife (in Daisy Mountain) where she proceeded to tell us that our Ward mission leader had just passed away in a terrible accident. Now this was our WML who took care of us, did his job well, knew everyone, and was involved in everything. He was the best Ward mission leader I have ever had, hands down. We were in shock. We had just talked to him at his house that day. I guess he had a huge underground grain silo that got a water leak in it. When the grain gets wet, it sucks out all the oxygen from the room and emits a poisonous gas. Brother Tryon went down to fix the leak and passed out. After about an hour and a half down there, one of his workers, Juan Pablo, found him and went down to save him and also passed out. After that, a neighbor, Cristian, went down to save them and also passed out. Both Brother Tryon and Cristian passed away and Juan Pablo is on life support at the hospital where they are just waiting for family to arrive from Mexico so they can pull the plug. Needless to say, it was a very hard week for us and our Ward will not be the same.
I went on the exchange with the French sisters and had a really good time. They even gave me a Book of Mormon in French and I learned a few words. One of those sisters is from Tahiti so for our workout that morning, she taught us this awesome traditional dance that I'm sure I completely butchered with my lack of hip movement. Because of scheduling, it was a back-to back exchange so the next day, I went back to my old area and got to see Nanette again! It was an awesome day but I discovered I really don't like leaving my area for that long.
Fast forward to Saturday now...what an emotional roller coaster! Brother Tryon's funeral was that morning so all week I had been calling other sisters in the mission who served with him and telling them the bad news and what time the funeral was. He was a vet for the past 30 years and took care of EVERYONE'S horses plus he has lived here his whole life so the stake center was PACKED. Standing room only. He was one of the most doctrinally knowledgeable men I've ever known and had a photographic memory so he was always reciting scriptures at us and expecting us to know where they were. He loved animals so much but loved the gospel even more. When he got a call during church to go put a horse down, he would take care of it and would be trying to bribe the owner to come to church the whole time. Later that afternoon, Burgundy got baptized! It was super stressful and she showed up about 20 minutes late but it finally happened and I'm so glad! It was a really exhausting day so we got home a little early and I cried it out for a while and then hit the sack.
I went on one more exchange with Sister Bauer for the transfer and it was the best day ever. We accidentally ended up wearing matching outfits and we had like 4 random people talk to us about it and got to talk about our missions. We got a lot done, had a boatload of fun, and had a stellar experience! We came home at the end of the day and were picking up the mail. I was kind of in this guy's way at the boxes so I said sorry and moved to go and he turned and said, "excuse me, are you sisters?" He then ended up asking us a bunch of questions and shared some pretty awesome spiritual experiences with us. While he was sharing one of the stories, he was crying talking about the spirit and the words of the first vision kept coming to my mind and I was practicing them. I kept messing up because I haven't said it in a while… but then I just went for it and we taught the restoration right then and there at the mailboxes while other people were coming to get their mail. At the end, he said, "How do I get in touch with you so we can talk again?" We were SO shocked! But we said a prayer and exchanged numbers and we are meeting with him again tomorrow! Btw, his name is Troy and I'm so stoked.
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| Getting Naked..... |
It was a rough week but it ended well. In transfer news, Sister Carroll and I will be staying together for 6 more weeks. Unfortunately, Sister Bauer is getting transferred far away from me to Goodyear and I'm so sad. But, Sister Williams is coming back to my first area to finish her mission there! I will be so glad to have her back in the zone!
Sorry this is so long but I love you all and hope you have a good week! ️
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